"Hmm~ you looked very surprised..."

Calyra said as she slowly moved her face away from the narrow gap in the shelf.

"I was under the impression you would have already anticipated my presence here."

’Huh?’

Ruvian let out a long sigh and crouched down to retrieve the books scattered across the floor.

"Do you genuinely believe my future sight functions whenever it pleases me?"

He muttered irritably while hurriedly stacking the scattered books back into his arms with visible annoyance.

"I was quite certain I already explained this before... I cannot control it at all. It appears whenever it wants."

Using [Blink], Calyra appeared beside him an instant later, slipping past the shelf easily.

’Damn it... is she trying to surprise me the second time?’

She knelt down gracefully and began collecting the remaining books from the floor.

"Sorry," she said softly.

She lifted one of the fallen books and handed it to him, her gaze flickering toward his face with quiet scrutiny.

"Are you mad?"

Ruvian casually sighed.

"...No, I’m not."

Calyra stared at him for a while.

"...you’re really good at telling lies. But I can tell that you’re mad."

’...’

Calyra continued.

"Even if your expression hides it convincingly, the mana around you is fluctuating rather violently."

’Ah... right.’

Calyra possessed an absurdly refined sensitivity to the movement of mana in her surroundings. Even the faintest ripple, the slightest disturbance in the invisible current of magical energy, rarely escaped her perception.

"How scary..."

Ruvian muttered quietly before he even realized the words had slipped out.

"Hm?" Calyra raised her gaze toward him.

Ruvian sighed.

"That ability of yours," he said, stacking the last of the books into his arms before straightening his back, "is rather terrifying when you consider the fact that it can practically be used to sense a person’s emotional state."

Then he glanced at her curiously.

"Anyway, more importantly... what exactly are you doing here in the lower section?"

Calyra straightened up, following Ruvian movement.

"I was merely searching for the possibility of discovering another relic left behind by my master. But I guess there was nothing here anymore."

"I see. But what about that book... did you manage to find anything inside which might lead to an explanation for your master’s disappearance?" Ruvian asked as he turned and began walking toward the nearest table.

He set the books down with a muted thud before leaning back against the edge of the table, crossing one leg over the other, folding his arms.

Calyra followed after him.

"No. Apparently I did not find anything. It turned out to be nothing more than a manual that explains methods of manipulating mana... specifically how to absorb it more efficiently and gradually expand one’s internal reservoir."

She paused briefly.

"It was something my master had already taught me a long time ago, so the knowledge contained within the book was not particularly useful for me."

"I see... so have you finished reading the entire book?"

Calyra nodded.

Then she added, "Besides searching for another trace of my master here... I was also hoping to see you."

Ruvian raised an eyebrow.

"As for?"

Calyra stared at him in silence for a moment.

"You don’t remember?" she asked. "I thought that we agreed to have a discussion after the dungeon expedition."

Ruvian slowly brought a hand to his chin as realization dawned upon him. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Ah... yes. I haven’t forgotten about that," he admitted.

"However... you never actually specified the time or the location where that conversation was supposed to happen, so I assumed you would be the one approaching me when you were ready."

Calyra blinked once and slightly turned her head aside, clearly searching through her memory.

After a moment, she looked back at him again.

"I didn’t mention the time and place?"

Ruvian nodded.

"Are you sure?" Calyra asked again, pressing a finger lightly against her lips while adopting a contemplative pose.

’Haa... this woman.’

"I swear on my ancestors’ names," Ruvian replied without hesitation.

"Hmm...."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"Well then... the date is today, the time is now, and the venue will be this library."

She regarded him calmly.

"Since you are already standing here, that simply means you have already agreed to hold the discussion with me today."

’...’

Ruvian stared at her.

Then, he sighed and pushed himself away from the table he had been leaning against.

"Alright, fine. But let’s have a discussion on the upper section."

Calyra nodded.

In truth, Ruvian did not particularly mind agreeing to her proposal. After all, it provided him with the perfect opportunity for Calyra to bring him into the upper archive.

Then, he gestured vaguely toward the pile of books.

"But first I should return these to their shelves. If we are heading to the upper section afterward, I doubt I will find anything particularly useful down here anyway."

"No need for that."

Calyra snapped her fingers lightly.

At that exact moment, the pile of books resting on the table abruptly lifted into the air.

One by one, the volumes drifted gracefully across the aisle before sliding themselves neatly back into their original places along the shelves.

Ruvian watched the floating books with mild fascination.

’Oh, that is very convenient...’

’I should seriously consider learning the library’s telekinesis spell as well.’

"Now," Calyra said calmly. "Let’s go."

*****

Threading through the tall shelves of the upper section, Ruvian wore a faint smile on his face as his fingers brushed along the spines in a slow, deliberate glide.

’As expected of the upper section, there are a lot of advanced reading materials here.’

He mused, a quiet satisfaction blooming in his chest.

Behind him, Calyra shadowed him soundlessly, like a very polite and well-mannered ghost.

Several books floated beside her in a neat, orderly cluster. Ruvian reached for another book and slid it free, barely glancing back as one of the floating volumes adjusted itself to make room.

After studying Ruvian for far longer than she probably should have, Calyra finally compelled herself to speak, though even then, there was a faint, almost incredulous edge to her voice that she couldn’t quite suppress.

"You’re planning to read all of these books? Your dedication to studying is very commendable."

She said, her gaze sweeping over the absurd, almost unreasonable number of volumes floated precariously in front of her.

Ruvian turned toward her slightly, the corners of his lips lifting into a thin, almost amused smile.

"What do you mean?" he replied, as if her reaction itself was a strange one.

"This is about the same amount you read daily. If there’s anyone truly dedicated to studying magic here, it would be you."

"..."

"And how could I possibly let this opportunity slip by when you’re granting me the privilege to borrow the books from the upper section?"

But the instant those words reached her ears...

Her brows drew together.

’How... did he know that I read a lot?’

Calyra had never told him that. Not once. Not even in passing. And yet, he spoke as if it were the most natural thing to be said.

A strange, suffocating pause stretched between them, until she abruptly broke it.

For some unknown and inexplicable reason...

The mere sight of him from behind awakened something within her, prompting a question as a faint sense of déjà vu tugged insistently at her mind.

"Ruvian... have we met before?"

"...Huh?"

The response escaped him before he could even process it.

The question struck him with a jolt, wholly unexpected.

’Met her before? Why did she ask me that?’

That didn’t make any sense.

Ruvian frowned faintly.

"No. I think this is the first time we’ve met. At least... here in the academy."

But Calyra didn’t reply.

Rather, her gaze unfocused entirely, slipping past him, past the shelves, past the present itself, as though a memory buried deep within her mind had suddenly clawed its way to the surface.

—"...Hey, you dropped this."

She recalled a clear, yet impossibly distant voice.

It was a boy’s voice.

Turning around, she saw a vague silhouette standing before her, arm extended, offering something back to her.

Something important.

Something she should recognize.

But...

What was the thing that she dropped? Who was he? Why couldn’t she remember where this was?

The harder she tried to grasp it, the more violently it slipped away.

—"Ah, thanks. I thought I would’ve lost this forever! You’re a saviour!" Calyra smiled brightly as she accepted the item.

The boy’s silhouette lingered, watching her in silence for a time.

—"Stay well, Calyra. This will be the last time we’ll be seeing each other. So I hope that... and I wish that... you’ll be able to save ■■■■"

Suddenly, a sharp pain tore through her head without warning, her expression tightening involuntarily.

’Ugh...’

And just like that...

The image fractured.

It collapsed into nothingness.

The silhouette of the boy dissolved, its edges breaking apart as if it had never existed to begin with.

And just like that... reality snapped back into place.

Instead of the mysterious silhouette of a boy crouching in front of her... this time, it was Ruvian.

His expression was laced with concern.

"Hey, you accidentally dropped this book," he said.

For some reason, that fragmented memory overlapped with the preset — overlapped with the scene of Ruvian handing the book to her now, uncannily intertwining with what she had just seen in her vision!

Calyra’s expression grew wary.

"Ruvian...

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[Chapter 124: Who Are You? (1)]